Well after my booking canceled with novotel el borg "last minute" hotel manager sent me to hotel safir.Its a 5 star hotel with such a comfortable rooms. It was very clean and quiet. Our room had a small balcony where we enjoyed pool view and traditional egyptian music from our balcony:) They have a free internet at the lobi .Stuff was very friendly.We loved safir.We only stayed 2 nights at this hotel as they didnt have vacancy for the next 2 days but it was fab. Breakfast was open bufet and was yummy. Excellent location too .

It's located in a safe place where some of the foreign embassies are, so you will see guards with big guns patrolling. Unfortunately, I had a room that was facing the street and was lower level so I could hear guards checking in on their walkie talkies throughout the night. Breakfast was great - good mix of local food and typical Western food. And the view in the cafe of the Nile was a treat to let sink in while you are sipping your fresh strawberry juice.

I think a VIP checked in in the middle of our visit because some staff came by to count the furniture, but I think they were checking out if we were dangerous. It was odd, but we took it with a sense of humor.

My wife, daughter and I stayed at the Safir suites in Zemalek along with my sister-in-law's family... the location of the hotel is great (the back side open out onto the Nile & there are some great views from the room balcony). Zemalek is an upscale part of Cairo with embassies, restaurants etc. the hotel is a 20 min taxi ride from all the attractions (Mosques, Khan El Khalili etc) and a 10 min drive from the Egyptian Museum. It is pretty conveniently located within Zemalek.. we were able to walk to a nearby convenience store to buy water, juices etc. Also a 10 min walk from Abou El-Sid which is the #1 egyptian restaurant in Cairo.

Breakfast at the hotel was excellent ! the hotel also has a swimming pool that overlooks the Nile, altho it was too cold for us to use.

The only thing to keep in mind is: The suite is basically 2 bedrooms opening into a common "living room" and a common kitchen. Each bedroom is allocated to 1 family (i.e each bedroom is a hotel room). i.e 2 families end up sharing the common areas of the suite. In our case, we were 2 families who traveled together so it worked out really well. however, it could be a bit strange if you have party animals in one room and a staid family with young kids in another room, with both sharing the common living room and kitchen ! make sure you call the hotel and indicate your preference upfront.

Extremely pleasant hotel that was apparently recently renovated. Located in Zamalek along the Nile River with awesome views from either the River Facing rooms/suites or the pool or the Gym.
The rooms are nicely setup and most are 2 or 3 bedroom suites with a twist. If you've got the 2 bedroom suit, your card key opens the door to an apartment, but then, you need to use the same card key to get into your room, pretty neat if you ask me. You get the privacy of your own room and you can extend it to the living room if you want when your "apartment mate" is not in.
The locating is also good, in a neighbourhood filled with embassies so expect to see lots of armed guards along the streets. For food and shops, it's a good 8 min walk to the left after you get out of the main door of the Hotel.
Overall, a good hotel at an especially good price. It's location is great since it's very central and gets you to most of Cairo's best places in a jiffy. Not more than 40mins by taxi to any of the main places of interest even with Cairo's congested roads.